Lou (Mary-Louise) Conway

Dr Lou (Mary-Louise) Conway

Biography

My academic career began in 1995 here at UNE teaching management, organisational behaviour, and organisational change in a part-time capacity. Between 2005 and 2007 I completed my PhD and returned to full-time academic work in 2008. Operating an agricultural enterprise with my husband over the last 20 years keeps me well grounded in the practical reality of management and business. My early professional background as an Occupational Therapist taught me to appreciate the extraordinary capacity of people to adapt and change. As an educator within the Management and Organisational Studies discipline my passion is in supporting students to learn about designing and creating optimistic places of work.

Qualifications

BOcc Thy (UQ), MBA (NE), PhD (NE)

Teaching Areas

I teach within the Management and Organisational Studies discipline and co-ordinate an undergraduate unit, titled Contemporary Management (MM200) and a postgraduate unit, titled Processes of Management (GSB721). Both of these units are core units within a number of business awards and offer high levels of interaction between students.

Research Interests

Major research interests

Regional development and the 'voice' given to community, business and government in decision making in regional communities. Lou's research into community activism within the Liverpool Plains and Gloucester regions has shown how regional governance mechanisms have been tested against the force of global corporate activity and government planning processes. Lou also researches workplace thriving examining multiple dimensions of the employment experience for apprentices and trainees.

Examples of research projects

An analysis of regional development governance in NSW and WA; the role of community activism in regional development, in particular the activities of Caroona Coal Action Group and the Barrington Gloucester Stroud Preservation Alliance; the perceptions of the Mayors and General Managers involved in the unraveling of the New England Strategic Alliance of Councils; workplace experiences for apprentices and their employers in Armidale; women in small business in Armidale; and health and wellbeing business opportunities in Armidale.

Conway, M-L., Dollery, B., and Grant, B. (2011). Shared Service Models in Australian Local Government: the fragmentation of the New England Strategic Alliance 5 years on. Australian Geographer, 42(2), 207-223.

Conway, L., Dollery, B., and Grant, B. (2011). The Construction of Regional Development in the Boardroom: A Comparative Analysis of New South Wales and Western Australia. Journal of Economic and Social Policy, 14(8).

Conference Papers

Conway, M-L. (2008, July). The Meaning of Regional Development, according to Board members. In Proceedings of the XII World Congress of Rural Sociology, "Envisioning a Prosperous Rural Future in a Globalizing World". Goyang, Korea, 6-11 July 2008.

Conway, M-L. (2006, September). Boardroom Revelations - board members making meaning of regional development governance. In Proceedings of the Australian New Zealand Regional Science Association International (ANZRSAI) Conference. Beechworth, Victoria, 26-29 September.

Conway M-L. (2005). The Stitching Up of Regional Development Governance: metaphorically speaking. In Proceedings of the Australian New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference. Canberra, ACT.

Sheridan, A., & Conway, L. (2003). Women in Small Business in Regional Locations. In Proceedings of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand (SEAANZ) Conference. Ballarat, Victoria.

Sheridan, A., & Conway, L. ( 2002). Women in Small Business in Regional Locations - an Armidale case study. In Proceedings of the Australian New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference. Beechworth, Victoria.

Sheridan, A., & Conway, L. (1999, November). Flexibility, part-time work and the role of HRM. In Proceedings of the Organisations Looking Ahead: Challenges and Directions Conference. Griffith University, Queensland.

Conway, L., & Sheridan, A. (1999, December). Part-time employment: Making the most of the fastest growing segment of the Australian labour market. In Proceedings of the Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference. Adelaide, South Australia. Awarded Best Interactive Paper of the Conference.

Conway, L. (1997, December). Action-based learning in Distance Education. In Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference. Wollongong, New South Wales.

Conway, L. (1987). The Future of Supported Employment in Queensland. In Proceedings of the SEARCH Conference funded by the Commonwealth Department of Community Services and Health. Brisbane, Queensland.

Consultancy Reports

Sheridan, A., Conway, L., and Harris, J. (2003). Armidale: Healthy People Living and Learning in a Healthy Environment. A consultancy project commissioned by the Economic Development Committee of the Armidale Dumaresq Council to examine the potential for the development of the health and well-being sector within the Armidale region.

The University of New England respects and acknowledges that its people, programs and facilities are built on land, and surrounded by a sense of belonging, both ancient and contemporary, of the world's oldest living culture. In doing so, UNE values and respects Indigenous knowledge systems as a vital part of the knowledge capital of Australia.